The fierce Provencial sun and the mistral wind set Mont Ventoux ablaze on
Saturday, but that was quickly dealt with by the fire fighters. It was the
riders, and their heroics, that fired the imagination most and left the
warmest glow.

The best part of a million people crowded onto the mountain to watch Alberto Contador be annointed as the 2009 champion, to wonder at Lance Armstrong’s enduring competitive will and, if you are British, to shout yourself hoarse as a grimacing Bradley Wiggins clawed his way up to secure a magnificent fourth place overall and equal Robert Millar’s previous British best of 1984.

It was compelling drama but Ventoux lends itself perfectly to that. It exposes everybody’s fault lines, especially in the strong gusting winds that hit the riders front on as they emerged from the treeline, climbing away from Chalet Reynard.

Spain’s Juan Manuel Garate won the stage - with fellow escapee and potential future Tour de France winner Tony Martin in second place - but it is their misfortune that few will remember that. The real action was taking place behind them with the dust up for podium postions behind the majestic Contador and Andy Schleck.

Wiggins, who started fourth overall, was magnificent in defending his position and has been the revelation of the Tour. Fighting off a known mountain specialist like Frank Schleck, who started just 23 second behind him, and dealing with the multi-talented Andreas Kloden was a superb achievement for a man hardly built to conquer mountains.

Wiggins is a huge talent, possibly the best all-round cyclist Britain had ever produced. As a triple Olympic gold medallist on the track he has always possessed one of the best engines in the peloton, but until this year - needing a new challenge after Beijing - he has never committed totally to the road.

He has shed a stone in weight and now bases himself in Girona, but also he has belatedly started believing he can be a star turn and not just a Prologue rider and a wisecracking patron of the grupetto on mountain days.

Wiggins was suffering like never before at the top and was clinging on desperately to his fourth place as he passed the Tom Simpson memorial. He was head down in the zone but other British riders down the field made their own gestures.

David Millar threw a cap with RIP TOM written on it - a French spectator tried to grab it but was persuaded by British fans to let it be - while Mark Cavendish took his helmet off as he rode slowly past and Charles Wegelius gently lobbed his waterbottle in the general direction.

As for Contador, his climbing is a joy to watch, up on his pedals tapping out a sinuous beat to his own secret rhythm. He even rolls his shoulders in time like a nightclub dancer and there was not a single moment on this Tour when he looked distressed in the high mountains.

Such consumate ease has aroused suspicion over the years - and cycling more than any sport must stay vigilant - but you do not need to be a sports scientist to see that Contador is simply a better and more efficient climber than anybody else and has made himself into a top time-triallist.

Contador’s only serious problem this year has been the battle of wills with Armstrong, colleague but clearly bitter rivals. “The situation was tricky,” admitted Contador last night. “It was tough because we both wanted to win the GC and it just does not work like that. He will be a tough rival in 2010, he has shown that.”

The Spaniard, who also won in 2007, was placed in an intolerable position by Astana’s recruitment of Armstrong and it was always going to cause friction, which it duly did. Contador could have done without the hassle but Armstrong thrived on it and you have to doff your hat towards somebody approaching their 38th birthday who was retired for more than three years and shattered a collarbone in four places back in late March.

Armstrong was delighted with third place overall. “Not bad for an old fart like me,” said the American. “I can’t complain. It seemed like half of America was on the mountain and all of France. The huge crowd helped keep the wind off the riders. My tactics were simple – follow Wiggins and then Frank Schleck. I felt good and I had the legs to do it.”

Tested more than 40 times since his comeback, his podium finish can be seen as validating his previous triumphs, which many have doubted. Despite the charity element of his comeback that validation was the main reason for his comeback. He will have slept well.